FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[tampachick]

HI New To BYC- and to chickens! Moving next month to a small homestead in Plant City and will be building a coup and getting some chickens- any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome! I am just around the corner from you in Tampa! I just went to Holloway's Feed Store in Land O Lakes on 41. They have baby RIRs and Americaunas (sp), and will be getting some Jersey Giants (I'm partial to these breeds as that's what I have). Great place to get hens, as well as supplies. Also, there is a Tractor Supply Store in Plant City. The address is 1803 JIM REDMAN PKWY, Plant City, FL and the website is www.tractorsupply.com. They are another place to get supplies/feed/etc.

What kind of advice are you looking for? I'll do what I can to help since I'll be pretty close to you! I hope you enjoy your new home/area!
Karen

 

[FleetwoodMck]

I guess as far as advice would be rookie mistakes to steer clear of/
We arent moving until mid January and we still need to make our coup-
We have a 14x14 run in that I plan on turning half of it into the coup and having a run coming off of it.
Hoping to have chicks by mid February-
Opingtons were recommended- but I would like a mixed flock- thinking of starting with no more than 3-5 as we are newbies.

 

[tampachick]

I guess as far as advice would be rookie mistakes to steer clear of/
We arent moving until mid January and we still need to make our coup-
We have a 14x14 run in that I plan on turning half of it into the coup and having a run coming off of it.
Hoping to have chicks by mid February-
Opingtons were recommended- but I would like a mixed flock- thinking of starting with no more than 3-5 as we are newbies.

I've found the easiest hens for this area, and hardiest and good egg producers to be the Rhode Island Reds. I don't know too much about Opingtons. If you look over the various breeds in the listings on backyardchickens.com, you can read about and decide for yourself. I haven't seen a lot of opingtons in the area. You can get a good feel for what is common in the are by looking at www.hollowayschickencoops.com. Let me know if I can be of any help. I'm no expert (except for this area of FL since I lived in Lakeland and Tampa my whole life!), but I can certainly share what I've learned either from this website, books or trial and error! Good luck!
Karen

 

[cmom]

HI New To BYC- and to chickens! Moving next month to a small homestead in Plant City and will be building a coup and getting some chickens- any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Quote:
Originally Posted by FleetwoodMck

I guess as far as advice would be rookie mistakes to steer clear of/
We arent moving until mid January and we still need to make our coup-
We have a 14x14 run in that I plan on turning half of it into the coup and having a run coming off of it.
Hoping to have chicks by mid February-
Opingtons were recommended- but I would like a mixed flock- thinking of starting with no more than 3-5 as we are newbies.

Probably the best layers are Sex-Links and Production (hatchery) Rhode Island Reds are good layers of large brown eggs. 3 to 5 birds is good to start with. My guess is that down the road you may want to expand your flock (chicken math). Many people start off with a few chickens and find out what joy they are and decide to add more birds to their flock, me included. We've added a couple of more coops since these pictures were taken. Good luck and have fun...

 

[cmom]

"Happy New Year"​

 

[cmom]

Oops, double post.

 

[kfiore]

Hi all! I'm new here and getting my coop prepared for laying hens. I would love a colorful egg basket. Anyplace in Miami, Homestead, Redland, even Davie where I can get hens? Other than craigslist, I'm having a hard time finding local vendors. I am only interested in 3-4 hens at the time.

 

[laura s]

@kfiore
I live in Homestead. I could put some eggs in the incubator for you. Any excuse to hatch chickies. Or PM me, I have a friend who sells quality birds from her farm.

 

[kfiore]

@kfiore
I live in Homestead. I could put some eggs in the incubator for you. Any excuse to hatch chickies. Or PM me, I have a friend who sells quality birds from her farm.

Thanks! Just sent you a PM

 

[HenKeepers]

Thanks! Just sent you a PM

We are in Kendall for now. Welcome to the group.